Program Information

Trading posts were meeting places. Sites to exchange goods, they also facilitated the transfer of news and information. Here, cultural differences were performed via the trade of materials and ideas. A consensus of value was required, always to the benefit of those running the posts, yet within the exchange was the potential to subvert such systems. Economic and colonial expansion was enabled through this network – almost every city important to the global economy including New York, Venice, and Hong Kong had its start as a trading post.

Accordingly, this residency will be a site for ideas to converge and to explore the potential of trade. Trading Post will bring together a diverse group of Aboriginal and Indigenous cultural workers in order to consider the potentiality and limits of exchange.

The residency will be structured around the trade (or gifting) of ideas, skills, and material goods through weekly workshops, guest speakers, and collaborative activities. Contained within it will be a space configured as a "fort" for trade, taking inspiration from historical as well as contemporary platforms of exchange. Here we will appropriate the language and materials of commerce, such as historical ledgers, IOUs, forms of credit and debt, vernacular currency, and goods. Participants are expected to bring things to trade/exchange/gift.

There will be screenings, suggested readings and discussions which explore texts on history, economic theory, anthropology, as well as the relationships between art and mainstream or alternative economies. Participatory and collaborative, Trading Post will also include activities such as potlucks and excursions, organized according to the group's interest and together with their guidance.

Please note: Enrolment to this program is limited to individuals of Aboriginal descent (status, non-status, Métis or Inuit).

All programs, faculty, dates, fees, and offers of financial assistance are subject to change. Program fee subject to applicable taxes. Non-refundable fees and deposits will be retained upon cancellation. Any other fees are refunded at the discretion of The Banff Centre.